We had our first substantial snowfall of the season* last night, 6-8". Today is bright and sunny, and it's very pretty out. There is substantial wind chill, though, so apart from shoveling, I've been admiring the pretty through my picture windows.

* Actually, large parts of New Jersey and Rhode Island got lots of snow inland during the Boxing Day nor'easter, but nearer to the coast, where I was staying while in Jersey and where I live in Rhody, we just got soaked.

---Christmas was good for the most part. There wasn't much traffic on the way down, and even going back during rush hour on the 27th wasn't too bad. I got lots of good loot (DVDs, books, money, and a quart of real maple syrup from my brother's farm, among other stuff), and there was terrific food. It even snowed lightly Christmas Eve, so we had a white one without the necessity of shoveling.

---I stayed with eldest sister. She has been fostering dogs for one of the local shelters. She already had one of her own, and liked one of the foster dogs so much that she adopted him as well. There was also a third that she brought home for the holiday while the shelter was closed. Unfortunately, that one was young and ill-mannered.** I caught her standing atop the dining room table. She also kept picking fights with the other two dogs, so she wound up spending most of her time in her cage.

** Think Stitch right after Lilo adopts him.

It's too bad. She is basically a good dog with people, and with proper training would be a nice pet. She liked me, and I liked her until she switched from chewing on the hems of my jeans to clamping her jaws on the screen of my laptop. Fortunately no harm was done to either computer or beagle mix.